1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to a method of controlling an operation of an image sensor of a multifunction apparatus having a digital copying function. More particularly, the present general inventive concept relates to a method of controlling an operation of an image sensor to prevent an error of a product occurring when a power is resupplied after the image sensor is stopped due to an erroneous operation of a digital copier or a power interruption.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a multifunction machine, which is called a multi-function peripheral (MFP), includes separate functions of office machines, such as a facsimile machine, a scanner, a printer, and a copier, integrated into a single terminal. The multifunction machine is independently used or is connected to a computer.
By way of example, a digital copier is described below.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional digital copier. The digital copier includes a scanning part 70, a cartridge 30, a displayer 60, an input part 20, a storage 50, a print part 40, and a controller 10.
The scanning part 70 scans an image of a document, and the cartridge 30 receives papers to be printed with the image of the document scanned in the scanning part 70. The cartridge 30 may receive one kind of sheets of paper or different kinds of sheets of paper. A size of the received paper includes A4, A3, B5, B3, etc.
The displayer 60 displays an image of the paper and a print image of the scanned document on the paper image. The displayer 60 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) for displaying the print image of the scanned document and the image of the paper, and a touch operation panel for inputting a certain command.
The input part 20 includes a plurality of input buttons for inputting a setup command for the document, an option command for the paper type, and a copy operation start command. The setup command sets up an orientation, a size, and a rotation angle with respect to the print image of the scanned document. The option command sets up an orientation, a size, and a rotation angle with respect to the image of the paper.
The print part 40 prints the print image of the scanned document onto the paper. The controller 10 controls the displayer 60 and the print part 40 according to a command input through the input part 20 by a user.
FIG. 2 is a detailed diagram of the scanning part 70 of FIG. 1. The scanning part 70 includes an image sensor 74, a platen glass 78, and a home sensing label 72.
When the user inputs the copy operation start command, the image sensor 74 starts to move. The moving image sensor 74 emits an optical signal (light) onto a document 76 which is placed on the platen glass 78, and receives through an image reading part 75 a signal corresponding to the light reflected from the document 76. The image sensor 74 extracts the image of the document based on the signal received from the image reading part 75.
The image sensor 74 determines start and stop positions of the image sensor 76 by extracting an image of the home sensing label 72 which is attached to an upper portion of a left side of the platen glass 78.
If a mechanical error or a power interruption occurs during an operation of the digital copier, the image sensor 74 stops at an abnormal position. Then, when the power is re-applied, the image sensor 74 forcibly moves along a +X direction for about 20 mm from a position (a) and returns to a normal position (b).
When the mechanical error or the power interruption causes the image sensor 74 to be located opposite to the home sensing label 72, that is, when the image sensor stops at a position (c), the image sensor 74 collides with a right wall in the scanning part 70. Accordingly, the image sensor is subject to shocks, and the collision results in an error of the digital copier.